Captives (18 page)

Levi set his jaw. Nothing would keep him from trying to free his people —from freeing Jemma. But it would be easier if he had help. “But your village sits upriver from the Safe Lands. If we built our own dam, cut off their water supply—”

“I have no quarrel with the Safe Lands. Cutting off their water would be an act of war.”

Levi stepped forward. “Destroying my village was an act of war.”

“To Glenrock, yes.” She slouched again. “But not to Jack’s Peak.”

Levi squeezed his hands into fists. “Ma’am, please. Have mercy. The women and children. With his last breath, Elder Eli bade me get them back. I believe my brothers and mother were taken. And my fiancée.”

She chewed her gums. “You are betrothed?”

“Yes, ma’am. To Jemma of Zachary.”

Her eyes flew wide open. “Now that one is my blood. Did you know that?”

“Yes, ma’am. Jemma’s grandmother was your daughter.”

“That’s right. Did you know that my dear Haiwee was named after my little sister, who perished in the Great Pandemic?”

“I did not.”

She grunted, as if considering this new development. “This changes nothing. You’ve buried and burned your dead, and the shadow of the owl still circles. More will die, and soon.”

Levi wouldn’t give a bullet for her superstitions. “Likely the owl is circling those Safe Lands officials who’ll die when I rescue my people.”

Her lips curled and she chuckled. “You speak like a warrior, Levi of Elias. Are you one?”

“I’m whatever God asks of me.”

She hummed long and soft. “I cannot involve my tribe in this mischief. We are few as it is.”

What else could he say to convince her? “But Jemma is your blood, ma’am. And whatever the Safe Lands enforcers want with Glenrock, in time they’ll come looking for it in Jack’s Peak.”

She shifted, ruffling her feathers again. “You cannot know that.”

“Neither can you. Even if you refuse to help me, you should make use of my warning. Prepare against a raid such as the one that destroyed Glenrock.”

“You are quite brazen for the last of your tribe, Levi of Elias, giving me advice.” She pursed her lips, and her gaze traveled up and down his body. Then she spoke quickly. “But I will allow such words. You may stay here for as long as you need.”

Levi did all he could to keep his expression solemn. “Thank you, ma’am. I meant no offense.”

She rumbled one last time. “You may leave now.”

Gladly. Levi strode out of the teepee, right past Beshup, and headed for his ATV.

His friend’s footsteps plodded after him. “What happened? What did she say?”

“She said I can stay, but she won’t help me get my people back.”

Beshup grabbed Levi’s arm. “Slow down, my friend. Come and eat dinner. No sense wasting what little food you have.”

Levi stopped. He might not eat again for a while. “Very well.”

“Good. Come with me.”

Beshup lived in a three-room cabin on the edge of the village pit. They sat at a plank table in front of a cold hearth. His wife, Tsana, served bowls of fish stew and flatbread. Before Levi could finish his food, someone knocked on the door.

Tsana let in Kosowe, who approached the table, holding a wad of plain linen. She bowed to Beshup.

“
Behne
, Kosowe,” Beshup said, gesturing to Levi. “You know Levi of Elias.”

Kosowe bowed to Levi and said softly, “
Behne
, Levi.”

He kept his eyes on his bowl of soup.
“Behne.”

She thrust her ball of fabric into Levi’s lap and bowed her head. “For you.”

Levi put down his spoon and unwrapped the bundle. A warm round of white bread. He nodded to her. “
Aishen.
But I’m not trading today.”

“No trade,” she said, glancing to the floor then back to his eyes. “Gift.” She smiled and backed away from the table until she reached the door, then spun around and left, her bare feet padding over the dirt. Tsana followed her out the door and, just before closing it behind her, shot her husband the wide-eyed look of a hint.

Levi looked from the door to Beshup to the bread. “Want some bread? Smells good.”

Beshup chuckled and set down his spoon. “Want a wife? I think Tsana is plotting.”

Levi winced and set the bread on the table. “Our fathers tried to marry Kosowe to Omar a few weeks ago, did you know that? Omar was there that night she and I … had our encounter.”

“Kosowe will marry no one but you,” Beshup said. “Her father keeps trying to make a match for her. It is not my fault that your brothers are the only other single men around. And you are fortunate I never told my father what I saw.”

“Because you would be in as much trouble as me for drinking.” Levi shook his head. “I don’t need a wife. I have a wife … Well, almost.” And he wouldn’t if Jemma ever found out about Kosowe. He pushed his bowl away. What was he doing here, wasting time? “You helped me with the pyre and fed me. Thank you. Now, I need to get inside the Safe Lands.”

Beshup grimaced as if the very idea gave him indigestion. “You’re greatly respected here. A successful scavenger. A wise trader. Stay with us.” He gestured at the bread Kosowe had brought. “You may like what we have to offer.”

“Beshup —”

Beshup held up his hand. “At least stay for the night.”

“I can’t.” Levi pushed his chair back and stood, leaving the round of bread on the table, lest he encourage Kosowe further. “I’m going to marry Jemma, Beshup. I’ll get her back.” He went outside into the early evening.

Beshup walked with Levi to his ATV. “You aren’t serious about going inside the Safe Lands, are you? There’s no way out.”

“If I can get in, I can get out.”

“I’ve never heard of anyone who came out. Something inside those walls changes people. And even if you did, you’d probably bring the plague with you.”

“There’s a first time for everything, Beshup. I’m the patriarch of Glenrock at nineteen. It’s my responsibility. I can’t leave them in there. I won’t. And I’m more than happy to die trying.”

Beshup slapped him on the back. “May the wolf go with you, my friend.”

Levi left Jack’s Peak no closer to freeing his people. The trip had only served to increase the guilt of his mistake with Kosowe. He steered the ATV down the steep mountain trail and tried to come up with a plan.

He’d call Judson in Clean Creek, the only other village in the area. It was his last option. Papa Eli had said the rest of the world had perished in the Great Pandemic and that the water from Mount Crested Butte was the only safe drinking water on the planet. Levi’s dad had doubted that claim, which was why he liked traveling to abandoned cities, hoping to find people or safe water sources. Not to mention, aircraft flew out from the Safe Lands every week, always headed north. They had to be going somewhere that had people and, presumably, good water. But Father’s last trip had uncovered neither.

Levi arrived home and called Judson on his dad’s two-way radio. When Judson heard what had happened, he offered Levi a place to stay but refused to help beyond that. Too much risk for his own people, just as Chief Kimama had said.

Levi was on his own. And it was getting dark.

He went to the two aspen trees with trunks that twisted together at the base and located the strip of braided twine in the grass underneath them. He yanked a sod-covered lid loose, pulled it aside, and jumped down into the village’s emergency cache.

Cool air enclosed him. He located the flashlight on the far end of the top shelf. The beam was nearly dead, so he took the time to wind up the battery. Once the light was bright enough, he shone it around the cache, which was a four-by-twelve-foot rectangular pit. Shelves lined both sides. Guns and ammo were stored on the left; shoes, dried food, and medicine were stocked on the right. Tubs of clothing sat on the floor under the right-hand shelves.

Levi sat on the five-gallon bucket of jewels they’d scavenged from Denver City and dug through the clothing until he found some fresh packs of undershirts. He ripped open the package and traded a fresh
one for his filthy red T-shirt then stuffed another clean one into his pack. He grabbed a bulletproof vest that Papa Eli had scavenged years before, and he changed into green camouflage pants and a long-sleeved matching shirt. The camo clothing smelled aged and would likely tear, but that didn’t matter as long as it helped him stay invisible.

He placed the leather jacket Jemma had made him inside one of the tubs, snapped on the lid, then took stock of the ammunition. There was plenty for his rifle and the pistol. He strapped on a shoulder holster and put Elder Harvey’s pistol into it—he hoped carrying the firearm would give him the fortitude he would need. He tossed two packages of bullets for his rifle up onto the grass and all the ammo he could find for the pistol.

Strips of beef jerky and some dried apples went into a cloth bag. He also gathered two more crank flashlights, a solar powered lantern, three wind-up two-way radios and two solar-powered ones, and a handful of jewels from the bucket in case he needed to buy something or bribe someone. He made sure to put his and Jemma’s wedding rings on a chain around his neck, determined to place Jemma’s on her finger at the first opportunity. Everything else he stuffed into a backpack and carried toward his family home.

It was dark now. Crickets sang, oblivious to the carnage that had taken place in the village of Glenrock. Levi wanted to go now, but he was exhausted. He needed a few hours sleep.

Then there was only one way he could think of to get inside the Safe Lands undetected: the sewers and storm drains.

T
he enforcer closed in, charging through the village square. The sting of a bullet entered Shaylinn’s back, and she fell. Still, the enforcer came. With every ounce of strength she crawled across the dirt … until someone helped her up, lifted her into his arms. Omar.

But there was blood on his hands. Her blood. As he leaned down to kiss her, he said, “I told them to come. And I told them to shoot you first, ugly crybaby.”

Shaylinn’s eyes shot open. The clock glowed 3:34 a.m. on the mirror above her dresser. Her heart sprinted in her chest, and her stomach ached with the horror of such words. It was just a dream. It had been years since Omar had said anything so cruel.

It was too early to get up, but when she tried to go back to sleep, she couldn’t. She crept into Jemma’s room across the hall and climbed into her sister’s bed. Jemma didn’t budge. The girl could have slept through the enforcers’ raid on Glenrock.

The thought pulled Shaylinn’s mind back to the raid and then to her nightmare. She studied Jemma’s room, which was identical to hers, but navy blue instead of cobalt. Omar had taught Shaylinn about the
color cobalt one day while she watched him paint. She’d decided then it was one of the most beautiful colors in the entire world.

In an attempt to distract herself, she imagined better times in Glenrock: weaving wildflower wreaths with her sister, playing tag with her cousins, dancing and singing after a ceremony in the Meeting Hall.

When Jemma’s mirror clock read 5:48, Shaylinn went back to her room to shower. Hot water shot out from three sides. If her stomach hadn’t started pinging with hunger, she might have stayed in there all morning. As it was, when she came out the mirror clock read 6:35.

There were no clothes in Shaylinn’s dresser drawers, so she put on her deerskin dress and went out to the living room. Kendall was already up, watching the wall of glass, which appeared to be a TV, her face aglow with the light of the screen.

“Good morning, Shaylinn,” Kendall said. “Sona brought a tray. There’s enough for everyone.” She motioned to the table.

The tray held a platter of eggs and bacon, a bowl of berries and some sort of melon, and a platter of pancakes. Shaylinn put a little of each onto a plate then sat beside Kendall. “Are you watching a movie?” she asked, nibbling a piece of bacon that was very salty.

“No.
Finley and Flynn.
I don’t know why I watch. All they do is gossip.”

On the TV, a man and a woman were sitting on a purple sofa. The woman was wearing a skin-tight yellow dress with a wide black belt. The man matched her with his yellow jacket over a black shirt and a black-and-yellow-striped tie. Both had black hair and pale white skin.

“Why do so many people wear yellow and black?” Shaylinn asked.

“Because of Finley and Flynn,” Kendall said. “They set the trends, and people mimic them.”

Shaylinn looked at Kendall, who was wearing a blue shirt and black pants. “But not you?”

“I don’t care what Finley and Flynn wear. I’ve got bigger things to worry about.”

“Being a mom?”

“I wish. It’s the Safe Lands, remember? As my medic made clear yesterday, I don’t get to keep him. He’ll be sent away right after I give birth.”

So sad. “It’s a boy?”

Kendall nodded. “I’m naming him Elyot. That, at least, I get to do.” “Are you scared?”

“Sometimes.” Kendall set her hand on her belly. “It’s not painful or anything. I mean, I felt nauseous at first. But now mostly I just feel big.”

“I feel big every day,” Shaylinn said. “If I really did get pregnant, I’d be humungous.”

Once everyone had gotten up and eaten, Kendall led them downstairs to the main sitting room. Jennifer, Aunt Mary, Eliza, and Chipeta were there, along with Matron, who was wearing an emerald green pantsuit with orange and yellow platform shoes. Shaylinn wanted to try on a pair and see what it felt like to walk in them.

“Why aren’t you wearing black and yellow, Matron?” Shaylinn asked.

Surprisingly, the woman didn’t seem offended. “Don’t get me wrong,” Matron said, “Luella Flynn is as precious as can be. But I mimic no one.”

Matron gave Shaylinn a small piece of glass called a Wyndo that she’d apparently given to everyone yesterday before Shaylinn had arrived. Kendall said Wyndos worked like Old phones, but could also be used to change hair, skin, or nail color or designs; monitor health; record conversations for playback; or identify any national’s face. Wyndos also had a SimPal, in which you could choose from over a hundred different people or animals to use as a personal assistant or simulated friend, who would speak to you through the glass.